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Dr. Mid-Nite
Dr. Mid-Nite is a superhero and member of the Justice Society of America, known especially for being able to see perfectly at night. There have actually been two people to take the mantle of Doctor Mid-Nite -- the first being Charles McNider, who mentored the second: Pieter Cross. Both Mid-Nites served in their birth-city, Portsmouth -- and then the world at large, as members of the JSA. Dr. Mid-Nite is seldom seen without his faithful, crime-fighting companion: an owl named 'Charlie'. Dr. Pieter Anton Cross was once considered the 'greatest physician in the world' by the academic community, and the public -- until he suffered an accident that robbed him of his (normal) sight. Forced to give up practicing medicine, Cross became a writer by day, and the superhero 'Doctor Mid-Nite', by night. Background Beginnings Born in Sogndal, Norway, though raised in Portsmouth, Oregon, Cross grew up being mentored by the masked vigilante (and former physician) Doctor Mid-Nite -- due to the fact that Mid-Nite had saved Cross' own mother, just as Cross was born. Pieter idolised Doctor Mid-Nite (whose real name was Charles McNider), as both doctor and vigilante, all throughout his life. Cross became a highly talented doctor, however, despite his skill he frequently got into trouble with the law -- mostly for sticking his nose where it was not wanted, in order to 'do good'. He also trained regularly in fitness and hand-to-hand combat just so he could tackle Portsmouth's underworld more effectively, whilst giving medical care to the needy. Given a certain, rare skin condition, he only 'consulted' at night. People called him the 'Midnight Doctor'. Turning Point Several years ago, everything changed for Cross. Investigating a drug-ring (on his own) in Portsmouth, regarding a new steroid known as Decahydrabolin (or, on the street -- A39), Cross was caught and dosed with an extremely high concentration of the experimental drug. He suffered a car accident as he fled, and lost his sight -- but the drug triggered latent genes in him, revealing his meta-human heritage. Weeks after the accident, Cross was attacked one night by a young owl, and he angrily removed the bandages over his eyes. He discovered, to his astonishment, he could 'see darkness' (i.e. he described the moon as an inky-black disc in the night sky, but everything else remained 'clear as day'). It was almost as if he had gained 'negative vision'. There was more to it than that, and Cross also found he could see in all the lower-level spectra (normally invisible to the human eye, such as infrared and microwave), and the A39 steroid also enhanced his stamina, agility and strength to that of a superior athlete. Normal light, however, blinded him. Cross was forced to give up his medical license in order to hide the secret of his new 'super-vision'. A New Path To preserve his identity as 'Doctor Mid-Nite', Cross changed his 'day-job' to that of writer (like his predecessor), assisted by Camilla Marlowe (a woman he had helped previously), who typed as he dictated. More than this, however, Cross returned to the streets at night. Inspired by McNider -- and, in part, by the rumours of Gotham's 'Batman' -- Cross put his genius to use and designed goggles that allowed him to see (after a fashion) in daylight, which also augmented his 'negative vision' with embedded diagnostic software, and ultrasonic lenses. He trained the owl (naming him 'Charles') and created a number of useful gadgets to further aid him. Cross took his Hippocratic Oath very seriously, and designed his tools to be non-lethal, just as his fighting style was. Properly costumed and cowled, Doctor Mid-Nite (the second) took to the streets as a vigilante. The Crisis that merged the two universes changed many things for Doctor Mid-Nite. Portsmouth City saw an influx of new people, new problems, new puzzles to solve. Cross had been focusing entirely upon the production of the drug that put him on his superhero journey in the first place (A39), and found that it went far beyond the reaches of his hometown. Combined with the world-merge itself, he purposed to leave Portsmouth and seek out the help of others -- some of whom he already knew (and a whole plethora of other that he did not). He also felt it was the right time to expand his efforts to help an ailing world. Personality * Obsessive - Cross is quite the thinker, to the point of being obsessive-compulsive. He has one of the most brilliant minds in the world, and he puts it to good use, however, he is prone to being too analytical, too pensive -- brooding, that is -- especially when a solution eludes him. He will not quit until he finds what he is looking for. * Tinkerer - Cross' true passions lie in medicine, but that does not stop him from toying around with technology. He is no 'Tony Stark' as an inventor goes, but he will tinker with anything. Being a genius helps too. * Practical - Cross is not entirely 'all about' law and order -- he cannot abide 'red tape'. If a law is not practical, it should be bent -- so he bends it. This has gotten him into trouble before. Frequently. The law doesn't protect everyone, which is why he does the practical thing -- the necessary thing -- to save those who 'slip through the cracks'. He is more about the 'spirit' of the law, rather than the letter. * Devout - Much like his predecessor, Cross is a religious man. He attends church regularly, and prays for the needy almost as much as he is out there, protecting them. Everything happens for a reason, and that faith sustains him. He is not generally an egotistical man, but his quiet and straightforward way of dealing with people can come across as... pious. His activities (especially when there are deaths involved) have him struggling with confession more often than he'd like. * Healer - Cross won't kill, not on purpose anyway. He values life highly and will go to great lengths not to take a life. He sees 'heroes' who kill as menaces, although the alleged 'necessity' of killing, at times, troubles him. He is also a vegetarian. * Synaesthete - A peculiarity of Cross' psyche is sensory-crossover (synaesthesia). Basically, his brain translates sound into colour -- which varies depending on emotion, pitch and resonance... This is one more reason that he loves music so much, and influences how he perceives and relates to his environment. * Drive - Cross does what he does because he can -- and therefore, must. Part of it is due to his faith; another part is due to his oath. People always fall through the cracks in 'the system' -- someone has to step in. Logs *2014-07-04 - What's With The Dracula Act - Doctor Mid-Nite (A.K.A. Pieter Cross) pays a rare 'daytime' visit to Grant's Gym -- to seek the help of an old friend and comrade, Wildcat. *2014-07-03 - A Coffee A Day - Doctor Pieter Cross meets Peter Parker and Nico Minoru at the Warm Hands Cafe... *2014-07-11 - Something's Not Right - A rag-tag group of heroes go to discover what's wrong in the NYC library. *2015-05-21 - Get This Girl a Doctor - NPC'ed Log - Little Elizabeth finds herself in a place she's not expected: in actual care. Category:DC Feature Category:DC Hero Category:Ports Mouth City Category:DC Available